GLOBAL MARKETS - Asia stocks spooked by U.S. woes, dollar dips

By Eric Burroughs

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks dipped on Monday on worries about the fate of U.S. automakers and banks, while the dollar retreated as market players booked profits on the rise to a three-year peak last week.

Markets sent mixed signals at the start of the week, with the safe-haven dollar and government bonds losing ground even as financial shares dragged down most stock indexes. Oil prices jumped for a second day on hopes for more OPEC supply cuts. (More ...)

Global economy will shrink in 2009: WB

Financial Express

The World Bank said that the global economy will shrink this year for the first time since World War II and that the global financial crisis will make it tougher for poor and developing nations to access needed financing.

Trade is forecast to fall to its lowest point in 80 years in 2009, as economic hardship ripples across the globe, the bank said. The most drastic trade slowdowns are expected in East Asia, where growth had been robust, the bank said in a paper prepared for a meeting of finance ministers and central bank officials next week. (More ...)

DoT asks BSNL, MTNL to stop 3G services

Financial Express

Acting upon the directions of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) the department of telecommunications (DoT) has asked the two state-owned telecom service providers, BSNL and MTNL to stop providing 3G services till call monitoring services are made available to the intelligence agencies.

The 3G services provide for high speed data and video streaming and are distinct from the plain voice-based 2G services. (More ...)

'India-China mutual investment to boost economy'

Indian Express Finance

Facing a slide in economic growth due to the global financial crisis, China has favoured an increased two-way investment with India to check the impact of the downturn.

Chinese ambassador Zhang Yan said the two economic powers should "go hand in hand" and enhance bilateral cooperation in economic field to send out a positive message and help the world economy also to a great extent. Seeking mutual investment in key sectors like infrastructure, Yan said both India and China have huge foreign exchange reserves which need to be utilised properly. (More ...)